ross
ross

My son has made a book. Well, he’s made several. He wants to publish this one. It’s on a topic that ONLY he is enthusiastic about. What he’s made is INCREDIBLE for a 6 year old, but how to tell him it wouldn’t be published without making it sound like it’s rubbish?

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schuth
schuth

@ross Could you help him publish in a (very) small run of copies via print-on-demand? I’m thinking one for him, one for you, & a couple for family/his friends? One-off printing isn’t the cheapest & could be a barrier, but it might encourage future interest in writing.

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ronguest
ronguest

@ross Can you convince him to publish it online rather than in print (saving trees etc)? You could also distribute it electronically to friends, family, maybe school, maybe some willing colleagues? And of course link it the to friendly folks here.

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In reply to
ross
ross

@schuth Some people have pointed me at a pretty cheap book-printing service. So I might look into that. Thanks for the suggestion! Everyone's been really lovely.

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ross
ross

@ronguest That's a good idea actually, if I can find a way to do it. Love the suggestions that have come along! Thanks for contributing to the ideas!

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ross
ross

@fiona Cool. Thanks. I'll think about that. I'm trying to get him to think about whether he could make a book that more people would be interested in.

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jmac3665
jmac3665

@ross I used to be a printer back when there was such a career. I don't have anything to add beyond what others have suggested, but I want to say I applaud the effort, which I think will be a great experience for your son, and give you something to put away to remember when he's much older. Please let us know what happens.

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smokey
smokey

@ross Depending on the content and intended readership/distribution, you could also do something like one of these (age ~8, age ~10, age ~18) and literally self-publish.

The first is white/printer paper (glued to construction paper on the covers) run through the lamination machine (pro tip: crayon illustrations do not play well with the heat of laminating!) and spiral bound. The second is just white paper folded over and stapled, with the “back” sides of the outermost sheet glued to the back of the cardboard cover, which was coated with drawer-liner/contact paper (I think; all I remember is that they were out of white and clear by the time it was my turn). The last I printed using the old BookMaker /T-Maker ClickBook Chooser extension and my English teacher then photocopied on the colored paper and stapled (there’s a special stapler for doing those center staples).

The first two were fun crafty projects—could make a great father-son project; I have great memories of making them in class, plus my first two stories are now books I will have forever. The latter was just timely; a cathartic way of ending my senior year, part my English teacher’s gift to me and part my gift to her and my AP English classmates for the post-Cairo re-integration support….

I hope you do figure something out, because I’m sure having a book in some form will be something special for him for years to come.

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tones
tones

@ross you could make some zines with him :)

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